According to some news sources, Uber has signed a long-term partnership air taxi deal with NASA

The agreement outlines a flying car project, which includes proper aircraft and air traffic patterns. The project target release date is between 2020-2023. There are some significant considerations in the project. Nevertheless, the electric powered air travel taxi service is an absolute future reality.

Uber is a global transportation technology company dedicated to providing quality, seamless taxi service whenever and wherever they are needed. The plan to add air service to their itinerary joins many other companies with the same goal. The race is on to see who will succeed first.

Other Companies making flying cars:

Toyota

Toyota is a Japanese automobile manufacturer known for producing reliable, safe cars. They have also dabbled in robotics and artificial intelligence. Hence, it comes as no surprise they would garner a team to plan, build and test a car that both runs on the ground and in the air. Toyota intends to have this car ready for the ultimate goal of lighting the Olympic torch in 2020.

EVolo

This German based company also claims to be the first to produce an air taxi similar to a helicopter.

Airbus

Airbus is known for military drone development and air travel innovation. It is another European company in the race.

AeroMobil

The innovation of this vehicle is convenient. It combines everything in a luxury automobile with airborne capacity when and if needed. The design of this sleek transport is incredibly advanced for the current road and travel conditions and standardization.

Terrafugia

More than just a taxi service, Terrafugia is on the edge in innovation. They project personal freedom in their collective future vision. They already established The Transition. This is one of the world’s first flying cars. Convenient driving with speed of air flight has already received legal approvals for their full-scale sample model.
The second model, TF-X is an all-electric flying car with vertical takeoff and landing abilities.

Liliam Aviation

Another all-electric air taxi jet with VTOL. Liliam is offering an air travel option with as much simplicity as possible. They intend for their gliders to be affordable, clean, environmentally safe and efficient. These quantifiers will label them as leaders in the flying car industry.

As flying cars advance, regulations will gradually follow air taxi services and private vehicles. With evolving apps, hailing a flying car could theoretically be accomplished digitally or with voice software recognition. However, despite the growth this industry promises, there remain many challenges ahead.

One of the primary concerns is the ability for an urban vehicle to take off and land without a runway

This would dictate safety capabilities as well as vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) competency. Until now, flying is traditionally employed by a pilot. In this scenario, autonomous technology would be necessary to achieve mass commercialization. Additionally, these same independent vehicles would have to navigate while maintaining air traffic routes that don’t interfere with each other. Level of noise is essential in considering liftoff capabilities. Helicopters are an example of the sound level innovators are trying to avoid.

Military drones and other types of commercial drones display the origin of the models of the newly designed air travel options available today. Nonetheless, don’t believe these ideas came out of our technological era. Development of this kind of transportation has been going on for over a century. Moreover, what you see today, isn’t a new creation. These earth bound cars and air cars have been a work in progress.

Hence, what we see today are the finishing touches of a very long product design process

With the knowledge that as early as 1917 the progress of developing these kinds of technologies has been underway, it is not unfathomable to attribute alien sitings to such air car and drone tests. When we hear about new advancements, what we need to realize is the innovations are not new only the release of the knowledge. A great deal of information remains hidden from the masses. These aircrafts are only a small example.